Emi Isaacs and the Battle of the Downworlders
by lillyterese
Summary: Emi was a typical mundane. She had good friends and a family who loved her. But after a terrible accident, her world was turned upside down. Soon, she finds herself in a battle, in which she is fighting for friendship, love,trust,and her life. R AND R!
1. Chapter 1

"Yes Cam, I told you I will meet you downstairs in 15 minutes. Unless you want to come up for dinner," With the phone wedged between her shoulder and her ear, Emi stirred the pot of macaroni and cheese on the stove. Checking the time on the clock, she realized there was only half an hour before her friend Char performed at the small cafe around the block from her apartment. She turned the heat up on the stove anxiously.

"Well, when you get here come up for dinner then. Okay, I will see you in a few." Emi hung up the phone and threw it onto the couch. She went into her room to change quickly from her grungy Elmo T-shirt and ketchup stained jeans into leggings with ballerina flats, a ruffled tunic and long cardigan. Her shiny black ringlets were hanging loose around her shoulders, and her brown almond-shaped eyes stood out again her coppery skin. Quickly she touched up her eyeliner, grabbed her purse, and went to finish making her dinner before Cam got there.

Cam let himself in through the front door. "Smells good in here, Em. What's on the menu?"

"Le macaroni au fromage." Emi looked over at Cam with a smile on her face. He stared back, his nose crumpled up in confusion.

"Macaroni and cheese, doofus. Quickly, sit down; we only have 15 minutes until Char goes onstage."

Cam grinned and sat down as Emi brought their bowls of macaroni to the table. Cam and Emi had been best friends since the second grade, and were closer than any sibling set. Emi had met Char in her ninth grade math class, and before they knew it, they were the three musketeers. They were inseparable, and they did everything together. In fact, they were known as the Cam-Emi-Char unit at their high school.

After cleaning up their mess, and Cam and Emi took off down the stairs of her apartment. They arrived at The Beanery just in time to see the guy with greasy hair and bad acne announce to the crowd,

"Ladies and Gentlemen, next up is Charlize and the Fallen Angels!"

Cam and Emi were easily the loudest ones. Char proudly stepped out onto the stage, holding her microphone, with her band behind her. Her big blue eyes were full of excitement and her pale blonde waves were pulled back into a fierce ponytail. Add in the red lipstick she was wearing and she was an all-American girl. She glanced back at the band did a quick nod.

"One, two, three, four!"

"You did fantastic Char!"

"Good job, Char!"

Char smiled and thanked the fans that had congratulated her, and then turned back to her tea.

"So you guys think I did okay?"

Cam looked at her incredulously. "Okay? You did fantastic! You were easily the best band up there!"

"No kidding Char, everyone loved you!" Emi added. She pulled out her cell and checked the time.

"Oh crap. Five missed calls from mom."

Cam and Char winced. Emi bit her lip and went outside. Now that she thought about it, she forgot to scribble a note to her mom reminding her that she was going to Char's show. Knowing that she was probably about to get her head bitten off by her over-protective mother, She took in a deep breath and dialled her home number.

"Hi mom, what's up?"

"What is up? WHAT IS UP? Where are you young lady? I come home to find the house empty! What did I tell you about-?"

"Mom," Emi interrupted. "Mom, I told you two days ago that Char had her show tonight. I am only at the Beanery. I'm not far. So can we take this down a notch?"

"What if you had been an hour away with some guy with blue hair and multiple piercings? I would never have known!"

"Okay mom, I'm sorry. I'll remember to leave a note reminding you next time." On normal circumstances, Emi may have argued back, but she didn't feel like arguing today. She was tired of her mother's constant nagging and found that the easiest way to make it stop was by agreeing with her.

"Okay, thank you. Don't be too late dear. I'll leave the door unlocked, although Dad should still be up. 10:30 at the latest, okay?"

"Okay mom, I'll see you later."

"Okay bye sweetie, love you."

Emi hung up the phone and walked back into The Beanery, shaking her head. Cam and Char were staring in her direction.

"So," Cam piped up, flicking his light brown hair out of his green eyes. "What's the damage?"

Emi shrugged. "There has been worse. I have to leave in half an hour though."

And together they went and sat on the comfortable couches in the back of The Beanery, discussing the pile of homework they had to finish before the finals, their plans for the weekend, and Christmas. Before Emi knew it, 10:30 rolled around, and she had to leave. Promising them both a phone call later, she gave them both hugs and headed for the door.

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk you home? It really is no trouble."Cam asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Thanks, but really I'm fine. I only live around the block. I will probably see you guys tomorrow."

Emi smiled at them both and walked out. _Mom is going to kill me when I get home, I'm five minutes late,_ Emi thought to herself, and then snorted, realizing how ridiculous that is. _Teenagers disobey their parents all the time and mine are worried about me being five minutes late. _Nevertheless, Emi still hurried home anyways, mentally making a list of things that she had to do the next day. _Okay, so I have school, piano lessons at 4, take Tibbi for a walk, eat dinner, do homework, read..._

Emi spun around so fast that she got a head rush. She realized that she was not the only one in the alleyway. Heart pounding, she looked around. She knew that she heard footsteps behind her. Giving up her attempt at finding whoever it was, she turned around to continue home when she bumped right into a hard, sweater-clad chest, sending her back a few feet. She glanced up to see a young man in about his late twenties grinning evilly down on her.

"Well, well. What do we have here? Didn't your parents ever tell you not to travel alone at night time?"

Two more guys appeared from behind the first one, and Emi could hear the stirring of footsteps from behind her. Her breathing became shallower, and her heartbeat sped up to the speed of a hummingbird's wings.

"Please, I don't have any money. Just let me go home." She pleaded, her voice going hoarse.

The guy with the sweater chuckled. "We don't want your money, cutie." He snapped his fingers and two hands from behind Emi grabbed her arms. She whimpered in fright.

"How old are you, sweetie?"

Emi tried to speak but nothing came out. The sweater guy nodded and one guy who was holding her arm twisted it up painfully. She squeaked as her entire arm flared up in pain.

"I asked how old are you?"

"S-s-sixteen. I'm sixteen."

The sweater guy's grin grew broader. "And what is your name?"

"Emi."

"Short for Emily?"

Emi shook her head. "It's short for Emiliana."

"Pretty name." He reached out and stroked a piece of her hair.

She shuddered. "What do you want from me? Please, just let me go. I'll do anything. "

"I don't think so, Honey. I'm on a strict business deal here. Nothing personal, I assure you." He touched the side of her face. Emi tried to bite him, and he escaped her teeth by half an inch.

He roared with laughter. "Wow, isn't she feisty! I told you boys, she was the one! She's biting even before she's has been turned!"

Emi's blood turned ice cold. "What exactly do you mean, _turned_?"

The sweater guy's smile faltered a little. "Oh, you will learn all about that soon enough."

Emi's eyes began to fill with tears. _I'm going to die,_ she thought to herself_. I am never gonna make it home. I love you mommy and daddy. I'm sorry I ever got mad at you. _

"Sorry, kiddo. Remember, nothing personal."

The three guys standing in front of her began to close in on her, and Emi cried openly, trying anything to get them to stop.

"Please, please! Don't kill me, I'm begging you! Please- AHHHHHHHH!"

Emi screamed, tripping over her own feet as she tried to back up. Where the men had just been standing, there stood five huge wolves with huge teeth and foaming mouths, snarling at each other. Two of the wolves pounced onto her, holding her arms down as she thrashed around, screaming. She felt the wolf crawl slowly over her body until he reached her neck, snarled, and lunged for her jugular, at which point she screamed particularly loud. Still screaming and thrashing as the wolf ripped out her throat, she realized that the sides of her vision had begun to become fuzzy, and pretty soon, everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**** Hi! So I am not sure how I feel about the title of this story, so I may change it, but the summary will still be the same if I do. So yeah, this is my story, I hope you enjoy it! Please leave comments, and feel free to use some **_**nice**_** constructive criticism. ****** **

Fields and hills. Lots of greenery. And a lake. _This was definitely not Chicago_. Emi thought. Chicago was all cities and pollution. This place was beautiful, filling her with a sense of longing. She could see tall towers in the distance, and what looked like a city_. I could sit here forever_, she thought, lowering herself onto the grass. The scene changed. Emi found herself on a hill, one of the hills she had seen when she was by the lake. But it wasn't beautiful anymore. It was night time, and there was blood everywhere. People were getting killed and she was watching it happen. No, wait. She was in the battle, running for her life. _Why am I running on all fours? Am I hurt?_ She wondered, dazed. She looked for an injury, for some blood, but all she saw was some sleek black fur. _This is impossible_, she thought in a panic. _I cannot be a dog_. And the scene was changing again; there was blood everywhere, so much blood, all those bodies...

"She needs to get to the Institute, she's going to die," someone was saying over Emi. She could feel their shadow looming over her.

"It may just be easier to let her die," said another voice conversationally. This voice was female. "I mean, just to put her out of her misery."

"We can't let her die. That will be the second one this week." The male voice sounded exasperated as he put pressure on Emi's neck.

"Yes, but for the first one we were just too late to save the poor boy."

"I'm not going to let her die," said the male firmly.

"Alright alright. You know you can be really soft hearted sometimes."

The male ignored her and kept pressure on Emi's neck. _I'm dreaming,_ Emi thought. _Or I'm dead. It's probably more likely that I'm dead. _She exhaled and sputtered blood everywhere.

"She coming around Soph, we gotta get her to the Institute, and I mean now."

"Alright, I'll help you pick her up."

Emi opened her eyes a little bit to see a boy and girl, not much older than she, leaning over to attempt to pick her up with injuring her further. The boy had blond hair that looked like it had been kissed by the sun, straight and hanging in his huge blue eyes. Emi had never seen eyes as beautiful as this boy's. He was leaning near her face, looking at her with concern. If she had enough energy, she would have tried to protest, that she didn't know these people, and didn't want to go where they were taking her. But she could feel the pain starting to hit her now, white hot and burning. She could feel her own blood on her fingers, sticky and hot. She whimpered as they got their hands underneath her.

"Reece," said the girl softly. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Just help me lift her up without hurting her and I will carry her the rest of the way. Come on Sophia, on the count of three. One, two-"

"Emi?"

Reece and Sophia froze, looking up to see where the voice came from. They were hissing panicked whispers to each other.

"Why didn't you hear him coming?"

"I was concentrating on helping the girl like you had asked me too!"

"It doesn't matter, he can't see us anyway. Maybe he will just go away."

"Reece, don't be so naive! There's a bleeding girl on the ground in the alleyway!"

Emi could only cock her head slightly to see who they were talking about. There was a boy with floppy brown hair running towards her. _Cam_, she thought excitedly. _Oh God, he found me, I'm safe._

"Emi? Are you alright? Em? " Cam kneeled down on the opposite side of the boy and girl, who were watching him curiously. She wanted to slap him. Of course she wasn't alright; she was lying on the pavement! _Why can't he see them?_ She thought deliriously.

"Oh God. Oh my God." He stared at his blood slicked hands. "Jesus Christ. What happened?"

Emi coughed some more, her eyes closing. She could feel her strength leaving her, she could feel her vision going fuzzy and she knew she was going to faint soon. Cam scooped her up easily and started to carry her home, miserably whispering to her over and over again,

"It's going to be alright Emi. I'm going to get you home."

Emi looked back at the boy and girl. They were standing up, watching intently as Cam carried her away. She mustered up all the strength she had left, and said one thing:

"Cam."

And he looked at her, the pain on his face clearly visible, and she blacked out again.

Emi stirred comfortably in her bed. She knew any minute she was going to wake up and go downstairs to see her mom making breakfast for her like she did every morning. This morning she was feeling some oatmeal. Or a blueberry muffin. Yes, a blueberry muffin was it. She rolled back over and opened her eyes, expecting to see the sunlight flooding in through her window.

Instead, Emi got a view of white, sterile walls and a curtain separating her from the other people in the room. Her mother had her head down on the white sheets that were covering Emi, her dark brown hair scraggly, and falling out of her ponytail. There were nurses walking by the window of her room, and Emi was hooked up to an IV.

She was in a hospital.

Memories came rushing back to her. The men, the wolves, the boy with the pretty blue eyes... and Cam. Where was Cam? He had saved her, after all. And what day was it? How long had she been out for? And all of her blood in the alleyway...

She reached up and touched where the wolf man had bitten her. She could feel the tender skin and the stitches in her neck that went from right the top of her neck to just under her collar bone. She was going to have a giant scar there for the rest of her life.

Stirring, her mother opened her eyes and looked at her daughter.

"Oh thank goodness. My baby, oh my baby!" she wrapped her arms around Emi and gave a big sob. "How are you feeling honey? Are you doing okay?" she wiped her eyes, smiling a little bit.

"Water," Emi croaked. She realized how thirsty she was when she tried to speak. Her mother jumped up and brought her a paper Dixie cup full of water. Gulping greedily, Emi let out a big sigh of relief when she had finished.

"I'm okay mom. How long have I been in here? Where's Cam?"

"It's been about two days, dear. Cam is here. He insists on not leaving, even though I have told him countless times to go home. He thinks that it is his fault for letting you walk home by yourself. Which, in a way, it kind of is. But he will want to talk to you himself dear. I will go get him soon."

"It's not his fault," Emi insisted. "I would have walked home by myself even if he had asked me several more times to walk me home. What happened to me exactly?"

"You don't remember?" Her mother's Native American almond shaped eyes stared sympathetically at Emi. Their eyes were the identical. Now that Emi thought about it, she had never seen her mother look like this before. Her hair was scraggly and in a ponytail, and she was wearing her laundry day clothes. Even though she looked like a wreck, Emi still thought her mother looked beautiful. "There was a dog attack in the alleyway when you were walking home. You must have fainted several times from loss of blood and shock. The dog almost ripped your entire throat out. You had to have a blood transfusion and there are thirty-five stitches. The doctors say that if Cam hadn't of found you as soon as he did, you would be dead. They also said as soon as you wake up and they have a check in with you, we can go home. We were lucky Cam came to look for you."

Emi nodded, taking in the information slowly. She remembered what really happened, she knew those guys had turned into wolves and attempted to kill her. _Maybe I had dreamed that part_, sheconsidered_. People can't turn into wolves. That is impossible. Maybe I had fainted and dreamed about those guys harassing me and really what happened was that there was a dog attack. Yeah, that has to be it, _she concluded_. But then there was the boy and the girl..._

_That was a dream too,_ she thought firmly._ But_ _it seemed so real,_ a voice whispered in the back of her head.

"Can I see Cam? I want to talk to him." Emi asked. "Also, where's Char?"

"Char has been in a couple times to see you, although she doesn't stay long, which I can't blame her for. She's probably studying for finals. I'll go get Cam baby. I'll be right back."

Five minutes later, Cam walked in through the door, wearing a black and white striped hoodie with jeans and a T-shirt. His brown hair was flipped at the sides and his green eyes were sad. He walked over to a chair and sat in it taking Emi's hand and squeezing it.

"I thought you were gonna die." He said flatly.

"And leave you? No way." Emi smiled at him. "What's the matter? You look pretty upset about something."

He stared at her in disbelief. "I look upset about something? Are you serious? Emi, it's my fault you're here in the first place! What if I hadn't of found you? What if I thought I would just give you a call when I got home? I was so stupid Emi, so stupid to let you walk home alone. How could I have been so careless? If I had only-"

"Cam." Emi interrupted. "It doesn't matter that you didn't walk me home. I would have insisted on walking home by myself anyways so I didn't cause you any trouble. What is important is that you found me, Cam. You saved my life. And you're right. I would not be here if it wasn't for you."

Cam stared at the heart monitor by Emi's bed, but she knew she had said something right, because the miserable look on his face has vanished and the pain in his eyes had lifted a little. Then she got an idea.

"Cam, you didn't see anyone else in the alley, did you?" she asked excitedly. "Like a boy and girl around out age kneeling next to me?"

Staring at her like she was crazy, Cam shook his head slowly. "Nooo. There was only us."

"Are you sure?" Emi pressed. Cam shook his head again. Then Emi remembered something the boy had said.

_It doesn't matter, he can't see us anyway._

And her heart sank and she sat back into her pillows, defeated. Cam put his hand on her forehead.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? Maybe you didn't get enough blood or something. Have you eaten?"

Emi shook her head, her mind still on the boy and girl.

"Was there something in particular you wanted?"

That got Emi's attention. She looked Cam's way and smiled.

"I would like a blueberry muffin, please."


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks had passed after the attack. Several people were frightened, as it wasn't everyday someone got attacked by wild wolves in a giant city. But after the commotion had died down a little, everything went back to normal. In fact, the only mention of the attack was when people were staring at Emi's scar.

It bothered her a little, knowing that people were staring at her. She felt like something on display. But for the most part, Emi just ignored the stares and whispers at school and tried her hardest to forget it ever happened.

Forgetting was easier said than done. She couldn't forget about the boy with the pretty blue eyes no matter how hard she tried. She knew it was most likely she was hallucinating, but how could she have created something so beautiful? It just didn't seem possible. She didn't tell anyone about the girl and boy that she may or may not have seen. They would probably say she was crazy and put her back in the hospital, especially since Cam said that she was alone in the alley. So as hard as it seemed, Emi had to forget about the boy and girl.

Christmas had come and gone, and now it was prime time to study for finals. Emi and Char were sitting in Emi's room, munching on chips with their Biology books open. It was late and her parents were gone to the opening of the new art gallery, so they had the house to themselves.

"Okay, so what are three things that prove that someone has a recessive gene?"

Char groaned and flipped through her notes looking for the answer to Emi's question. Giving up, she slammed the book shut.

"Wanna go out? It's Friday night."

Emi shook her head, her mouth full of chips and pointed to her textbook.

"Yeah, I know we have to study, but we have been studying all break! We are two almost seventeen year old girls and were sitting at home on a Friday night. And it's not like there's nothing to do. Come on, let's go to a movie or hit up a party or something."

"My parents are gone, Char. We can't leave. You know my mom, what if she calls and we don't answer the phone? She will go into full out panic mode."

Char scrunched up her face and groaned again. "Can't you just call and tell them were going to a movie?"

Emi shook her head. "I don't think so, Char. We should stay here."

Char studied Emi's face intently. "Em, what is this really about? A month ago you would have loved to disobey the rules and laughed if we got caught, just because your mom said no. Are you scared to go out because of the, um attack?"

Shrugging, Emi pulled the textbook onto her lap and gazed out the window. Char snatched it back and snapped her fingers.

"Earth to Em. Do you think it's going to happen again? Because it won't. That was a rare attack. It never happens because we live in the city." Char smiled gently. "It'll be okay Emi. And besides, you won't be alone this time. I'll call Cam and we can go see what kind of party we can hit up. I heard that Mackenzie Roth was having a fantastic party at her apartment because her parents are outta town."

She got up to go get the phone, but Emi snatched her wrist and pulled her back. "Char, do you believe that people can become invisible?"

Char looked at her incredulously. "What are you talking about Emi?"

Dropping Char's wrist, she turned her gaze back to the window. "Never mind. I just had a thought about something. Forget it."

Char stared at Emi for a moment before deciding that Emi was sane enough to be left alone for a moment.

Emi looked out the window at all the lights of the city, hoping that if she looked hard enough, she would see the invisible people in the alleyway. With no such luck, she started to clean up the mess that her and Char had made when she was overcome with a sudden feeling of vertigo.

Dizzy and stumbling, she made it to the bathroom just in time to throw up everything that was in her stomach. She sat on the tile floor of the bathroom, watching her shaking hands and wondering where the sudden sickness came from.

"Emi, are you okay? Are you sick?" Char knocked on the door anxiously. Emi wiped her mouth and crawled to the door and opened it a crack.

"Char I really don't feel good. I can't go out. I all of a sudden got this weird nausea thing. I think I need to go to bed."

"Okay hon. don't worry I'll go turn down your bed for you and you can go to sleep."

Emi nodded and lay down on the floor of the bathroom, the cool tiles helping a bit. She started getting sharp pains in her fingers, and her toes. It spread to her shoulders, her back, everywhere and it was agonizing. Terrified and in pain, Emi let out a scream that was loud enough for all of Chicago to hear. She writhed in agony on the floor, felt herself changing, her fingers elongating, watched her teeth come out of her gums and spill all over the bathroom floor like Chiclets, and with gasping breaths, she passed out on the floor.

* * *

Emi woke up the next morning lying on the ground, in grass. She took in her surroundings, wondering where she was when she recognized the statues around her.

She was in Sherman Park.

_How the hell did I get here?_ She wondered, sitting up. She realized she was completely naked. Embarrassed and confused, she looked around for something to cover up with. Grateful that not many people were around, she hopped behind several trees in need of something. Finally she came to terms with a paper bag that she could use. Reaching to grab it, she caught sight of something watching her. Whipping her head around, she saw the boy from the alleyway frozen in his spot.

"You."

She said it with a bit of an edge to her voice, and for a moment they stood staring at each other. Remembering that she had no clothes on, Emi flushed and stepped behind a tree and sat on the ground with her knees bunched up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. The boy stepped around the tree and knelt down beside her, a blush tainting his cheeks also. He gave her his shirt and she pulled it on hastily. It was big, but she had always been tall so it just barely scraped the top of her thighs.

"How did you find me? How did I get here?"

"I followed you here."

The statement was so simple, yet it hit Emi like a tidal wave in the ocean. He had followed her? Why? How long has he been watching her? Why had he been watching her? Wait, had he even been watching her at all? She did the simple thing and asked.

"Why did you follow me? How did I even get here? What the hell is going on?"

He studied her for a moment. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Why don't you answer my questions first?"

"I'm getting there."

Emi sighed in frustration. "The last thing I remember is passing out on my floor. I remember being sick and having extreme pain all over. That's it. Then I woke up here."

"You don't remember anything else?" he pressed. "At all?"

Emi shook her head. "Look, can someone please just tell me what's going on? Is this some type of a joke? Because it's extremely sick and cruel if it is, and I really just want to go home. My mom and dad are probably sick with worry. If you aren't going to tell me what's going on, then I'm going to find someone who will. "

She got up, proud of the force and firmness in her voice even though she was extremely frightened. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down.

"I told you I would explain. If you would have some patience and give me a moment to breathe you might actually get something out of this conversation." Annoyance flickered across his face. "Let's start with the night you got attacked. Tell me what happened."

And Emi explained to him about the guys who had attacked her and how the dogs ripped out her throat. How the one lead guy talked about how she would turn, whatever that meant.

He nodded, looking like he knew exactly what she meant. When she finished, he was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Those weren't dogs. You know that. You saw them change. I know you did."

Emi paused. "No I didn't. What I saw was a hallucination from losing so much blood. It was a dog attack."

He shook his head, flicking his blond strands out of his blue eyes. Emi was suddenly very aware of the fact that he had no shirt on, and his sculpted muscles were very, very visible. She forced herself to look into his face.

"You said they hadn't attacked you yet. How could you lose blood, if you hadn't been bitten?"

Emi took this in, realizing that he was right. Making an impatient noise, he said, "You saw correctly. Those were werewolves. And they took a chunk out of your neck," he pointed to her scar.

Emi almost laughed out loud. She had prepared herself for something outrageous of course, but werewolves? That's ridiculous. They didn't exist.

The doubt must have shown on her face, because the next thing he said was,

"You don't believe me."

"Well of course not! I mean, really. Werewolves? You couldn't come up with something better than that? I'm going home now."

He grabbed her ankle so she couldn't stand up. "You are not listening to me. How can you not believe it? You saw it! You saw them change. I know it may seem a little crazy, but how can you not believe something you saw with your own eyes?"

Emi replayed the scene in the alley in her head for what seemed like the millionth time. He was right, she had seen them change. And not into dogs, but into giant, furry wolves. She had been living in denial. She knew what she saw.

"Oh my God. Oh my God!" she started getting hysterical. She couldn't breathe, the park was too closed in. black was lining her vision.

"Emi? Emi are you okay?" it was the first time she heard him speak her name. She shook her head and clutched at her chest, wanting to rip it open and make her lungs work properly. He grabbed her wrists and forced them down to her sides, gently. He stroked her arms until she calmed down, got her sight back and the world stopped spinning.

"I was bitten by a werewolf?" the whisper came out dry, and hoarse. He nodded slowly, as if that would help her remain calm and not start hyperventilating again. She went still. "How exactly did I get here again?"

"You um, changed. When I said I followed you, I followed… your wolf self."

"I'm a werewolf." Emi said. He nodded again. "That's what he meant by changed?"

"They say that you have a three in four chance of becoming a wolf. I say it's more like one in two. Everyone I know who has been bitten has changed."

"I'm a werewolf." Emi repeated. "But… why? Why change me?"

His brow burrowed in confusion. "That's what we want to know too. You are the third person this has happened to. Actually, you're the fourth, but one of them died. We are trying to figure it out too."

Emi's mind was reeling. She was a fictional being. She wasn't supposed to exist. How will she tell her parents? What about Char and Cam? What was going to happen to her? She felt dizzy again, but she forced herself to hold it together.

"Emi you look a little green. I'm walking you home, I'll explain everything okay? Don't worry. You are going to get through this." He held his hand out to her, and she took it. "Oh, by the way, I'm Reece. Reece Goldsmith." And as they walked, she let Reece start talking about the alternate world she never knew existed within her own.


	4. Chapter 4

****So this chapter is a little short, and it a little boring, but its kind of necessary. You know what would be nice? some reviews ! just saying...****

"So let me get this straight. There aren't just werewolves, but vampires and faeries too? and warlocks?"

"Yes," Reece answered. "And then there are people like me. We're called Shadow Hunters, or Nephilim. We hunt demons."

"If you hunt demons, what is my purpose?" Emi asked. " Why do werewolves exist?"

"Well," Reece said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking a little awkward. "You don't really serve a purpose. You were infected with a demonic disease. Same vampires and warlocks. No one knows why, it's just the way it is."

"Oh," said Emi, disappointed. "I see."

"Don't feel bad. I know this is a lot to take in right now. You probably don't even really believe half of what I'm saying. But you'll see soon, Emi. It'll start to sink in." Reece looked up at the building they were standing at. "Well, this is your stop. Your next change will be easier, I promise. You'll actually be able to remember things. Before you know it, you'll be able to control your changes too. Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it soon. I've gotta go. Take care of yourself Emi."

"Wait! Reece don't go yet!" Emi reached out to grab his arm, but he was already gone. Stomping her foot in frustration, she marched up to her apartment. He didn't answer all of her questions, and he didnt even tell her where she could find him again if needed. How does she tell her friends? her parents? Does she even tell them at all? If not, how does she hide it? is there any other werewolves she could talk to about this?

Hell, did she even believe in any of this?

But if she was a werewolf, why couldn't other people like her exist? Let's be honest, did she even really believe she was a werewolf?

Okay, she did believe it. As crazy as it was, it made sense. And really, part of her wanted to believe it was true. She wanted to believe that she was different. She wanted to believe she was part of an alternate universe. Still dazed, she opened the front door of her apartment and walked into her kitchen, realizing she was famished. Her mother was in there, looking frantic and holding the phone up to her ear.

"No officer, I left her and her friend here last night, they were studying for their finals. Her best friend said then that my daughter felt sick and rushed to the bathroom. The next thing she knew- Oh thank God!" Her mother dropped the phone and rushed over to Emi, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Where have you been! What happened last night! EMILIANA ROSE ISAACS, HOW COULD YOU TAKE OFF LIKE THAT WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE?"

"Mom, I'm okay. Everything is okay,"Emi tried to pry out of her mother's grip, but her mother just gripped her tighter, shaking her a little bit.

"Everything is okay! Have you lost your mind? What has gotten into you lately? How could you just take off like that after the attack that happened a couple weeks ago?"

"Mom, chill out! It was just a misunderstanding. I was really sick and I needed some fresh air. That's all."

"You needed fresh air all night? Emi what is this really about?"

"No, I really did. And then my friend from school walked by, and he noticed I was looking sick... and we went for a walk. Next thing I knew, I was woke up at his house this morning... He said I had passed out. That's all that happened." For some reason, Emi knew that she shouldn't tell her mother the truth. Not yet, anyways. Now was not the time. In fact, Emi thought, there might not ever be a time to tell anyone.

Her mother straightened up, looking at her daughter with cold eyes. She crossed her arms. "You're lying to me," she accused. "You're grounded. Until you tell me the truth, I don't think I can trust you. You are not to leave this house unless it is to go to school. And even then, you will have Cam or Char walk you home."

"Mom, that's not fair! I-"

"No, Emiliana. You've done enough. I don't want to look at you right now. I can't look into the eyes of liars." And with that, her mother walked out of the kitchen.

Emi's eyes burned with tears of frustration and anger. She couldn't tell her mother the truth. If she didn't believe the fake, more logical story she fed her, how would she believe something like that she can turn into a wolf? She ran to her room and slammed the door. Flinging herself on her bed, she sobbed into her pillow, crying for the feeling of loneliness in her heart. She was all alone in this, and there was no one who could help her. She sat up, whipped Reece's shirt off, used it to wipe her tears, and flung it to the ground. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared straight ahead blankly, wondering what her next change would be like.

Something caught her eye out of her peripheral vision from the window. Something that was blowing in the wind. Curious, Emi grabbed her bathrobe and walked over to the was a piece of paper taped to her window on the outside. She climbed out onto her fire escape and grabbed the paper.

Emi,

If you have any questions that need to be answered, you can go here:

There was an address given that Emi didnt recognize.

Good luck,

Reece.

Quickly, she went to her computer and jiggled the mouse excitedly. She pulled up Google Maps and searched the address. It was about 25 minutes away from where she lived, and it looked abandoned. She shivered, but she knew she had to go there. She needed the right answers more than anything. Letting her teeth sink into her bottom lip, she stared out her window. She was grounded. She couldn't leave.

But this was _important. _Her mother would never understand. _When did being grounded ever stop you before? _Emi thought to herself. _Char was right. A month ago I would have laughed in the face of grounded. _With new found courage and confidence, Emi pulled on some jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweater. She knew she couldn't grab her coat, which was at the front door. Shoving some pillows in a human-like formation under the covers of her bed in case her mother walked in, Emi took one last look at her room before she quietly creeped down the fire escape. When she was old enough, her parents had made her promise not to ever leave the house through the fire escape. If she were to leave, then she could not even bother coming home. That scared her enough that the only time she ever used the fire escape was as a balcony or a place to think.

But things had changed since then.

She landed lightly on her feet and hailed a cab. After telling the cab driver the address, he looked at her with a confused look, but he didn't say anything. She took one last look at the rules and the family she was leaving behind in her apartment building, took a deep breath, and prepared herself for the answers she was going to get.


End file.
